Irish Times finally reports Irish Family Planning advice scandal.

Yesterday's Order of Business in the Seanad was dominated by the scandal of IFPA councellors offering dangerous and illegal advice which could possibly put women's lives in danger. The discussion was reported in today's Independent. You can read that here. The story is beginning to be taken seriously at last. It's about time.
The Irish Times has also begun to take the story seriously, Ivana must have given the nod, that can be read here.

Senators call for investigation into "illegal" advice offered by the IFPA.

During today's Order of Business in the Seanad several senators raised the issue of illegal and dangerous advice being offered by the IFPA under the Crisis Pregnancy Program. I have already blogged about the actual issue, it was originally exposed about a week and a half ago by Gemma O'Doherty in the Irish Independent. Several senators raised the subject yesterday during the Order of business. It was first raised by Senator Marc MacSharry who welcomed the proposed investigation. Of course he was barley finished speaking when the leading campaigner for abortion in Ireland and leader of the Labour Party in the Seanad (and serial failed Dáil candidate) Ivana Bacik stood to speak. She wanted to talk about non-taxpayer funded organizations, rogue organizations, as she likes to call them, that should be investigated. Perhaps she feels that a proper investigation would be diluted if others weer investigated. This is the oldest trick in the civil service book but Sir Humphrey she ain't. The next person to speak was Senator Rónán Mullen and despite several interruptions by human rights superstar and the real President of Ireland, Senator David Norris made the point that women's lives were endangered and Senator Bacik was trying to minimize that fact. Senator Norris in his usual histrionic manner was going on about impugning named people despite no actual people being named. Did I mention that he has a biography out about how he singlehandedly won human rights for all people?
There were many good contributions from quite a few senators. It would be unfair to name any more senators without mentioning them all but you can read the transcripts here. Other topics are covered too.

Is illegal advice offered by the IFPA being ignored?

In his column in today's Irish Independent David Quinn asks the question why are the accusations against the IFPA being ignored? The accusations which appeared in last Saturday's Independent are substantial. RTÉ are still refusing to cover the story. This is the same network that sent a team of reporters to Kenya to carryout interviews that were used in a program that let to one of the worst cases of libel in recent years. RTÉ clearly have an agenda and that agenda is to ignore stories based on factual evidence that expose their pro-abortion fellow travelers. The story has also failed to be taken up by the "paper of record." Fintan O'Toole's head might explode if he was forced to write on this story. Quinn starts his column by giving Ireland's opinion makers a history lesson:

A FEW years back, at taxpayers' expense, the Crisis Pregnancy Agency launched an advertising campaign warning women not to be manipulated by 'rogue' anti-abortion pregnancy-counselling agencies.
The then Health Minister Mary Harney described the manipulative behaviour of such agencies as "quite appalling".
The pro-choice Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) joined in the attack, with a briefing document on those 'rogue' agencies.
Thanks to the Irish Independent, we discovered last weekend that there are plenty of 'roguish' elements on the pro-choice side too. In fact, 'roguish' is putting it very mildly.

Indeed! The hypocrisy of those who campaign on the platform of women's health is particularly galling. The full piece is here.